CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
Keoni Delacruz posted his sentiments with a sign on the back of wheelchair at Fort Street Mall. "Well, I'm gonna keep on smoking regardless what they say 'cause I think they bit off more than they can chew," he said about the new anti-smoking legislation. "We can't smoke 20 feet from an entrance but what can they do? They can't arrest everybody." CLICK FOR LARGE

Smoking ban is law of land

Some smokers huff and puff, others breathe a fresh sigh of relief

By Rosemarie Bernardo
rbernardo@starbulletin.com

HAWAII'S comprehensive anti-smoking law took effect yesterday, delighting many nonsmokers and bar workers while sparking scorn among displaced smokers.

Outside the interisland terminal at Honolulu Airport, a group of about a dozen smokers puffed away -- at least 20 feet away from the nearest entrance as the new state law dictates.

"In a way, it's a violation of my rights," said Richard Hardin, 69, a two-pack-a-day smoker from Waikoloa on the Big Island.

WANT TO QUIT?

For smokers trying to quit or for those who want to help someone else, the Queen's Medical Center is holding a lecture later this month.

Register: Call the Queen's Referral Line at 537-7117. Space is limited. Reservations are required.

The Smoke-Free Hawaii Law makes Hawaii the 14th state to enact wide-ranging laws against smoking in public. The law bans smoking in all public places including restaurants, bowling alleys, malls, and from curb to cabin at airports. It also updates strict county no-smoking policies by making it illegal to light up in partially enclosed areas, bars and less than 20 feet from doorways and windows.

Authorities don't expect to give out tons of tickets, but they hope businesses and public pressure become a front line of enforcement, said Julian Lipsher, a public health educator with the state Health Department.

Businesses in Hawaii failing to comply with the law face fines up to $100 for the first offense, $200 for the second offense and up to $500 for each additional violation. Individual violators of the smoking law may be fined up to $50 plus court costs.

Already, the law has frustrated Hardin who said that after a long walk to a designated smoking area, he has to go through the screening checkpoint more than once.

"I have to present my pass and explain why I came out," said Hardin, who has been smoking since he was 12. "It's just not fair at all."

But while Hardin's sentiments were echoed by his fellow smokers, Gov. Linda Lingle and many others were lauding the new law as a big step in the fight against secondhand smoke.

Lingle, who described herself as a former "militant" smoker, acknowledged the complaints but said the law was needed.

"I have gotten some e-mails from people I know and respect who are seriously addicted and they feel we are infringing on their lifestyle. ... We need to send a clear message, it is not about them. It is about those around them who do not smoke and the impact on them from secondhand smoke," said Lingle at a news conference at the Hilton Hawaiian Village to kick off the new law.

"For all of us who have stopped smoking, especially those who loved it and thought it was just great, we didn't want anyone telling us what to do. So in fact we know how difficult it is to stop smoking. It is a very, very strong addiction," she said.

THE AIRPORT wasn't the only place where smokers were adjusting.

At Tamarind Park downtown, 31-year-old Trey Arnold walked out of the American Savings Bank Tower toward an ashtray that had been moved farther from the entrance.

Arnold, a claims examiner for National Interstate Insurance, said the new restrictions don't bother him while he's at work but it may make a difference when he wants to have a beer at a bar.

"It's nice to have a cigarette with a beer. They go together," he said.

The sentiment was not shared by some bar workers, however.

At the Mai Tai Bar at Ala Moana Center, bartender Chris Llanos, 26, said he is glad smoking was finally banned from bars. "I don't like smoke, not at all."

"Even though it's an open-air bar, you still smell like smoke," said Llanos, who has been working at the bar for the past four years.

"I don't even like going to bars that have smoke."

At the University of Hawaii-Manoa, booths were set up at the Campus Center to promote a healthier lifestyle to celebrate the kickoff of the smoke-free law which coincided with the American Cancer Society's "Great American Smokeout."

Kits were also available to help smokers quit. About 20 percent of students at UH as well as other colleges throughout the country are smokers, said Dana McCurdy, peer outreach coordinator of the UH-Manoa Health Services Office. "It's not as bad as everyone thinks... It's getting better," she said of the percentage.

Hawaii has the fourth-lowest rate of adult smokers in the nation, with only about 17 percent lighting up, according to the state Health Department.

WHILE the law was welcomed by many, business advocates have expressed concerns that it would hurt tourism, and bars, particularly hard.

Mai Tai Bar cocktail server Roxanne Esparza said she believes the new law will hurt business. "It's as beneficial as it is harmful," Esparza, 20, said. If patrons walk outside to smoke, they can just leave and not return to the bar, she added. "We can potentially lose more money."

And the tourists who were smoking outside the airport expressed their disgust with the new law.

CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
Friends and co-workers gathered at the O Lounge last night in celebration of the anti-smoking law that went into effect yesterday. Sponsoring the event was the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaii and Tobacco Free Oahu which spearheaded the anti-smoking legislation. Pictured are UH students and Cancer Research Center of Hawaii researchers Laura Durso, Yen-Chi Le, Amber McClure, Tina Fujimoto, Crissy Terawaki Kawamoto and Amos Jarrette. CLICK FOR LARGE

Ed Ciotucha of Ontario, Canada, and his wife, Donna McQuat, said it was their first time vacationing in Hawaii where they both celebrated their birthdays. They learned of the new law yesterday. "Perfect day to leave," McQuat, 40, said.

The couple said they spent about $14,000 during their 14-day vacation in Hawaii and would consider whether they would ever return because of the ban. "It's a vacation after all," McQuat said.

Lingle acknowledged the hardship for tourists who smoke. "I haven't smoked for 20 years. I know that people who smoke are going to go through a very difficult time, people who land at our airport after a long trip, the first thing they are going to want when that door opens is to smoke a cigarette and they are not going to be able anymore."

Hardin, who regularly commutes between the Big Island and Oahu monthly for doctor's appointments, said that while he was irritated by the changes, he will deal with it in stride.

"I'll just sneak around and find a place where they can't spot me," he said.

The law

SMOKING IS BANNED AT:

» Enclosed or partially enclosed facilities or places owned by the state or counties that are open to the public, including private businesses

» Private homes used as child-care, adult-care or health-care facilities and private membership clubs that employ people

» Restaurants and bars, including outdoor patios and lanai, including luaus and other events where food and drinks are served